Notes: These small
armored ships were built to defend the approaches to German harbors, and
were quite unusual in that the two 9.45" forward turrets were
side-by-side. As built, they had a single funnel (ÄGIR was built
with two funnels). ODIN and ÄGIR were built to slightly different
specifications; their belt armor was thinner, but their deck armor was
thicker; each had two additional 3.45" guns, and their torpedo tubes
were 16.5"; each also had fighting tops on their masts. The
entire class was rebuilt; HAGEN in 1898-1900, the rest by the end of
1904. They were lengthened to 282' 6" and reboilered, with
tonnage increasing to 4,158 tons, and after the rebuild, they all had two
funnels. Bunkerage for coal was increased to a maximum of 580 tons,
which extended their range to 3,400nm at 10 knots / 1,940nm at 14
knots. They were noted as being good sea boats with a tight turning
circle, but with a marked speed loss in heavy seas.

After being briefly attached to
the High Seas Fleet at the beginning of World War I, the entire class was
reclassified as "coast defense ships" (in 1915). By the
end of 1916, they had all been disarmed and assigned to other
service. HAGEN served as a barracks ship at Libau, Danzig,
Warnemünde from 1916 until the end of her service. HAGEN was sold
for breaking up in June, 1919, and subsequently broken up at Berlin.